1. Field
Example embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to mobile electronic devices and, more particularly, to a mobile electronic device and method that enable the identification of previously entered textual objects during transliteration of an input.
2. Background Information
Numerous types of mobile electronic devices are known. Examples of such mobile electronic devices include, for instance, personal data assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, two-way pagers, cellular telephones, and the like. Many mobile electronic devices also feature wireless communication capability, although many such mobile electronic devices are stand-alone devices that are functional without communication with other devices.
In certain circumstances, a mobile electronic device having a keyboard of Latin letters can be employed to phonetically enter text in languages that are not based upon Latin letters. For instance, Pinyin Chinese is a type of phonetic Chinese “alphabet” which enables transcription between Latin text and Standard Mandarin text. Pinyin Chinese can thus enable the input of Standard Mandarin characters by entering Latin letters. A “pin” is a phonetic sound, oftentimes formed from a plurality of Latin letters, and each pin is associated with one or more Standard Mandarin characters. More than four hundred pins exist, and each pin typically corresponds with a plurality of different Standard Mandarin characters.
It is also understood that BoPoMoFo characters are of a phonetic nature and can be typed on a keyboard to enable the inputting of Traditional Chinese characters. As is generally understood, a Traditional Chinese character is translated from a BoPoMoFo string comprising at most three BoPoMoFo characters and an optional tone.
Both Standard Mandarin, i.e., simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese can be said to employ Chinese characters. Some of the characters are Standard Mandarin characters, and others are Traditional Chinese characters, while other characters are common between Standard Mandarin and Traditional Chinese.
While mobile electronic devices that provide transliteration between phonetic input and Chinese texts have been generally effective for their intended purpose, it would be desired to provide an improved method and mobile electronic device that provides improved inputting of text.